Robots are exciting and feel like something that will be “in the future” as opposed to existing now. Robotics is an area that is growing quickly with a lot of evolution in technology that isn’t in mainstream articles. Buddy is a robot with artificial intelligence that is an assistant, helper, security device playmate and family networker.
Buddy, by BlueFrog Robotics, isn’t like the Terminator or Hal. Science fiction loves killer robots, but the reality is robotics is about helping people. Buddy can recognize speech, detect, recognise and track humans and objects, and is capable of turning text into speech. Buddy moves around on three wheels, navigates using real time house mapping and localization and has autonomous collision and obstacle avoidance technology built in. An app is available that allows Buddy to be controlled by a remote.
BlueFrog Robotics has made Buddy open source so that developers can develop the hardware and software. The device itself is modular so that Buddy can be updated infinitely with different accessories for work or play. Buddy can interact with the Internet of Things and other devices. The accessories available are plug and play, so you don’t need to be a developer or robotics genius to upgrade Buddy’s hardware or system.
The classic edition has features such as home security, smart home (Connecting all smart devices together as a hub controlled by the Buddy app), social interaction through multimedia sharing and connection to social networks, as a person assistant, multimedia hub, as “edutaintment” for children or to care for the elderly.
There are different editions of the Buddy robot, starting with the Classic Edition mentioned above for $649 (Or as a down payment of $349 now and $350 when Buddy is shipped in 2016), a developer edition for $749 that includes full SDK access to docs and support, an Elders Pack with mobile side table and docking station for $789, the Premium Pack that has a projector arm and classic arm for $849. A Buddy Pack for those with special needs is $899 and has classic arms, extra head protection and one Buddy specialized application with one year to Auticel Cloud Service. Two Buddy classic editions is $999, and a customizable Buddy (With VIP trip to Paris, a private demo and exclusive dinner party) is $4999.
Source: IndieGoGo
